Tazawa looks faster than ever after surgery

Three years ago, two young right-handers were the talk of Red Sox spring training: Daniel Bard and Junichi Tazawa.

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TIM BRITTON
Posted Sep. 18, 2012 @ 8:03 pm

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Three years ago, two young right-handers were the talk of Red Sox spring training: Daniel Bard and Junichi Tazawa.

That spring, Bard didn’t allow a run in 101/3 innings; Tazawa allowed one in nine. They both struck out more than a batter per frame.

While Bard earned a quick promotion and excelled for nearly three seasons as Boston’s set-up man, Tazawa was lost in the shuffle, undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2010.

He’s not lost in the shuffle anymore. In fact, Tazawa is looking a lot more like Bard these days than Bard has in more than a calendar year.

On Monday night in St. Petersburg, Tazawa worked yet another 1-2-3 inning in relief, striking out two in the process. This is nothing new for the right-hander of late. He has struck out nine of the last 14 men he’s faced and 19 of the last 40.

In his last 72/3 innings, Tazawa has struck out 14 and walked one, with one hit allowed: a Derek Jeter bloop single off the fists on Sept. 13 at Fenway Park.

Tazawa has always possessed a starter’s mix, with a fastball, splitter and curveball. What’s made him so effective of late has been the increase in velocity on his fastball.

He appears to be one of those pitchers who gains miles per hour on his fastball post-surgery — something not uncommon, but rarer than people think, according to pitching coach Randy Niemann.

“Part of that is, as they’re going through the rehab process, they get on a regular throwing program that they’ve never been on before,” said Niemann, who in the past served as the rehab coordinator for the Mets. “They get stronger and pay more attention to their arm and the exercises they do and the correct way. Some of that results in better velocity.

In his previous stints in the majors, Tazawa’s pitches reached 91 mph, and he never — in the absolute sense of the word — hit 95. Earlier this year, he averaged about 92 on the gun while touching 95. In his last several appearances, though, he’s sitting at 94 and hitting 96 with some consistency.

He’s thrown 80 pitches at 95 or better in 2012, and an even half of them have come since Aug. 22.

“Before I had Tommy John, my elbow used to just swell up a little bit, and I wasn’t able to throw the way I wanted to. I wasn’t hitting the velocity I knew I was capable of,” Tazawa said Monday through interpreter Jeff Cutler. “Right now, I think I’m finally starting to pitch the way I want to, reach the velocity I want to and the results have been there.”

“More than anything, the velocity and the command have gotten better and better as the season has gone on,” Niemann said. “Typically, the year after the surgery, they’re able to pitch and pitch at a fairly high level, but they still have some inconsistencies in both velocity and command as they go through the season — much like what Daisuke [Matsuzaka] has gone through. The second year, it all seems to come together for them: the maximum velocity, the command. That’s what he’s experiencing right now.”

Tazawa has looked so good in his first full season back from Tommy John that Matsuzaka has cited the reliever as a source of inspiration for his own recovery. Like Matsuzaka, Tazawa was shelled in several of his first outings back in 2011. In his first seven professional outings after returning from the surgery, he allowed 19 earned runs in 20 innings.

That seems a long time ago indeed.

The uptick in velocity has helped more than just the right-hander’s fastball. Ryan Lavarnway, who caught Tazawa a bit last year at Triple-A Pawtucket and for much of this season with both Pawtucket and Boston, said his secondary stuff has improved as well.

“His split is devastating right now — almost unhittable,” he said. “They’ve tightened up his curveball. It was a little bit loopy last year, and he’s throwing it harder, almost like a slider.”

Tazawa’s growth this season has him poised to become an integral piece of the Red Sox pitching staff in the future. Asked about his role Monday night, Tazawa was exceedingly diplomatic.

“I see my role to be prepared whenever I’m called upon. I don’t worry about when I’m throwing. I’m more worried about just being prepared whenever it is,” he said. “I haven’t really thought about next season yet. I’m more focused on finishing this season strong and being prepared whenever I’m called upon this season.”

A one-time starter, he said he’d “like to give it a try” if he’s asked about starting again. But he maintained that he hasn’t earned that opportunity yet.

“I just came back and I’m still proving myself right now,” Tazawa said. “It’s just focusing on the task I’m given at the moment and make sure I produce the results that the team is expecting from me.”